When the careers platform, In Her Sight, sought to share best practices for creating inclusive and supportive environments for disabled employees, they interviewed Dr. Stephanie W. Cawthon, a world-renowned expert on disability and accessibility.
The result is Disability Awareness: 5 Tips for Making Your Management Style More Inclusive, published on April 24, 2023.
In the article, Dr. Cawthon advises managers and leaders:
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The importance of recognizing that many disabilities aren’t immediately visible, which is particularly true for neurodivergent individuals.
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Disabilities are often undisclosed by employees due to concerns about facing prejudice and professional limitations. The World Health Organization reports that 1 in 6 people globally live with some sort of disability that impacts their daily life.
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Separate the cost of access from the hiring process.
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Make a conscious effort to eliminate ableist language and attitudes.
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Actively and genuinely get to know people. In a popular recent LinkedIn post, she advised, “If you’ve met one person with a disability, you know a little bit about ‘one’ person with a disability. That’s it. You are not an expert on all things disability.”